NHL Awards Watch: Believe it or not, McDavid not the unanimous MVP pick right now

Connor McDavid leads ESPN's early-season NHL MVP straw poll but fell short of a unanimous selection. The Edmonton Oilers captain secured over 88% of first-place votes for the Hart Trophy after scoring 47 points in his first 18 games. Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon also received first-place votes to finish as finalists.

Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard emerged as the front-runner for the Norris Trophy with more than 83% of first-place ballots. Other category leaders in the survey included Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler for the Calder Trophy, Minnesota's Jesper Wallstedt for the Vezina, Minnesota's Joel Eriksson Ek for the Selke, and Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm for the Jack Adams Award.